


sleep in heavenly peace

by mazberrypie



Series: Silent Night [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ? - Freeform, Arguing, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, Friendship, Nightmares, Post-Akumaized Marinette, Pre-Relationship, lots of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12709038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mazberrypie/pseuds/mazberrypie
Summary: Everyone finally just sits down and talks.A follow up to my Akumized Marinette fic, "all is calm".





	sleep in heavenly peace

**Author's Note:**

> I never expected one of my fics to pass 1k kudos, let alone 2k, and I am so grateful to everyone who read 'all is calm'. Whether you were with me through all the breaks, read it as it was finishing, or are going to go read it for the first time, thank you so much for your support! 
> 
> That being said, this fic doesn't make a lot of sense unless you read 'all is calm', so I would recommend you go read that first and then come back.

Marinette couldn’t seem to get enough air.

She woke up gasping, her lungs heaving in her chest. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears and throat, hammering away in an unsteady tempo. She couldn't figure out where she was, her lightheadedness making it too hard to think. It felt like her body was shutting down. It felt like the world was ending.

When she tried to sit up, Marinette found that her arms were too shaky to support her and they crumpled beneath her. She tried to remember how to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth, just like her mom had taught her during her first panic attack.

"Repeat until you can think and then work from there."

It took some time but, very slowly, she was able to calm herself down. She was on her bed, in her room and it was late, or maybe early. Marinette noticed Tikki brushing the bangs from her eyes, sweetly whispering that everything was alright and that she was safe now.

"Another bad dream?"

Marinette's throat hurt too much to speak, so she nodded instead. Not that she'd be ready to talk for a little anyway.

Carefully pushing herself up off the bed, Marinette crept down to the kitchen for a glass of water. She leaned against the counter while she sipped, checking the time in the oven's clock.

It was well past midnight, which meant it was officially a week since Marinette had been akumized.

A week of trying to apologize to Alya, a week of avoiding Adrien. And a week of nightmares.

(Everything else might have been more manageable if not for the nightmares.)

Marinette rubbed her eyes with a sigh. It was late enough that there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. She had homework she hadn't been able to finish last night, having collapsed in bed from exhaustion, so she might as well work on that.

Her life had become a hellish cycle. Wake up much too early, do the homework she couldn't do the night before, try to get through school without having an anxiety attack, come home and pass out. Only to sleep fitfully, have a bad dream and wake up early again.

There hadn't been an akuma attack since the last one, which in some ways was fortunate. Marinette didn't have to stress about being too tired for a fight. But at the same time, it also meant she was always jumpy, anticipating the next akuma.

Tikki was waiting for her upstairs, staying silent while Marinette pulled out her planner and booted up her computer. Her kwami never had much to say after one of Marinette's dreams. It was odd because Tikki always seemed to have some sage advice to dull out, but she had yet to try and talk about it.

They sat in the peaceful stillness of early morning for a while. It was peaceful, despite the stress Marinette felt, as she flipped through textbooks and worksheets before the sun had even come up. Tikki remained quiet until Marinette was reaching for her science notes and the kwami put her little hand on Marinette's.

"Marinette." Her voice sounded grave. "I don't think it's a good idea to keep living like this."

"What do you mean?" Marinette feinted confusion, desperately wanting to avoid this conversation.

Tikki just frowned, staring up at her.

Marinette tried to force her expression into something neutral. But Tikki had a way of worming into all the places Marinette wanted to keep secret and seeing everything Marinette tried to hide.

"Oh, Marinette." She said, and it sounded so much like after they had shaken off Silent Night together that Marinette couldn't remain composed.

"Tikki, I don't know what to do." Marinette buried her face in her arms. "Alya won't talk to me, and I'm too tired to think. The only person I could talk to is Chat, but he's..."

Tikki stroked her hair again; she always seemed to do that when Marinette was hurting. After centuries of caring for various Ladybugs, she had gotten good at comforting her charges. She let Marinette cry for a moment, cooing at her before gently pulling her face out of her arms.

"I know it's hard now Marinette, and you're confused and hurting. But you're not alone, and you're making yourself more lonely by not letting your friends help you."

"Alya doesn't _want_ to help me, and I don't even know where to begin with Adrien." Marinette protested, wiping her tears away with her pajama sleeve.

Tikki made a disappointed face, "I don't think you're giving Alya enough credit. She's your best friend, and even though she's hurt, she still loves you a lot. You're not giving her a chance to prove that."

Marinette shrunk back. She hadn't thought of it that way before, and in that light, she _was_ being unfair to Alya.

"And as for Adrien, I can't think of a person who would be more willing to help you." Tikki continued. "He obviously cares about you, and he'd want to help his partner."

"You're right Tikki." Marinette sighed. "I'll...I'll try talking to them both today."

Tikki narrowed her eyes and Marinette stared her down for a beat before caving.

" _Fine!_ I'll text Alya right now." Marinette yanked the charger out of her phone.

"What about Adrien?"

"Let me work up to that please, it's too early to try and make myself do that."

Marinette pulled up her chat with Alya. The last time they'd texted was...a week ago.

_A: hey did you finish the lit hw? and can i check yours if you did?_

_A: MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG WHERE DID YOU GO?  i saw chat noir yank you off the eiffel tower and run off! are you ok??_

She hesitated a moment, before shooting off a quick text.

_M: can u meet me at the library before school? i have something to talk to u about_

It only took a couple of seconds for Alya to respond.

_A: Ok._

"' _Ok_ '? What does that even mean?" Marinette all but shrieked, throwing her phone down in front of her.

"It means that she agreed!" Tikki insisted. "It's a good first step."

"I guess so." Marinette scrubbed her eyes.

"Now, about Adrien-"

But Tikki was cut off by Sabine calling up the stairs, "Are you awake up there Marinette?"

"Yes, Mom!" Marinette yelled back. "Be down in a sec!"

"Take your time dear; I'll have breakfast ready."

Marinette stood, heading towards her closet. "Sorry Tikki, Adrien will have to wait."

Tikki shook her head but dropped the subject while Marinette got ready for school.

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette chose a secluded table in the corner of the library to wait for Alya. She was still within sight of the door, but hopefully, no one would be able to overhear their conversation.

Alya showed up thirty minutes to the first bell, and Marinette's stomach squeezed when she made her way to the table.

"Hi, Alya." Marinette's voice was small.

Alya stared at her, expression unreadable, before giving a little huff.

"Hi, Marinette. What do you want to talk about?"

Marinette closed her eyes. Alya was right to the point, as usual.

"I wanted to apologize. Again."

Alya frowned, and pulled out a chair, sitting across from Marinette with her arms folded. Marinette studied her friend's face for the first time in a week. Her eyes had bags under them, and her hair wasn't as shiny as usual, so Marinette hopped that Alya was just as tired of all of this.

"Go on."

Unfortunately, Marinette hadn't really planned much past 'being sorry,' and was at a loss for words.

"...I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you-"

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you right there." Alya stood back up. "I've heard enough."

Marinette gaped at her. "I didn't even finish what I was saying!"

"No, but you were going to say all the same shit again. You obviously don't understand why I'm angry."

"Then explain it to me!" Marinette rose as well, her voice rising in volume. "Because I don't know what you want from me."

"If you can't figure it out, I'm not going to waste my time." Alya started to leave, but Marinette grabbed her arm before she could.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't trust you, but this isn't some dumb middle school secret. It's big and dangerous, and I had to be careful!"

" _Why_ couldn't you trust me?" Alya turned on her suddenly, righteously angry and Marinette's mind went blank.

"What?"

"You heard me. Do you think I don't know how serious this all is? Why couldn't you just-" Alya's voice broke, her fury crumbling to make was for something more miserable. "Why couldn't you just _trust_ me?"

Marinette just stared at her, blinking in confusion.

"Alya..."

"Never mind, I don't care." Alya yanked her arm from Marinette's grip, whipping her eyes behind her glasses. "I'm out of here."

"Alya!" Marinette tried again, but Alya ignored her and slammed the library door behind her.

"God!" She crumbled into her chair, covering her face with her hands.

Marinette sat, simmering in frustration until someone tapped her shoulder.

"What?" She snapped, glaring up at whoever had disturbed her.

Astonishingly, it was Chloe.

"I'm sorry, I just...wanted to see if you were okay?" Her voice was uncharacteristically gentle, and she looked, confused? Worried?

_Concerned?_

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marinette responded, standing swiftly and gathering her backpack. "Just great, Chloe."

"Ok, that's a straight up lie."

Marinette's head whipped towards Chloe, mouth open in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

"I wasn't here for the whole thing, but I saw you and Alya arguing, alright?" Chloe sounded more like herself, her arms crossed and her eyebrows high in defiance. "So, I'll ask you again. Are you okay?"

Marinette stared at her a moment, but the blonde wouldn't budge.

"Alright, fine." Marinette finally conceded. "No, I'm not okay. Everything sucks. You happy?"

"Yes," Chloe smirked, before realizing how that sounded. "Wait, I mean, no."

"Frankly Chloe, I don't know what you want from me, so if you could just go back to pretending I don't exist and leave me alone-"

Chloe blocked her way, still pushing for some reason.

"Do you...need someone to talk to?"

Again, Marinette found herself astounded. Was she actually having this conversation with Chloe Bourgeois?

"No offense Chloe, but why on earth would I _talk_ to you about my problems?"

Marinette wasn’t asking because she wanted to hurt Chloe’s feelings, she was genuinely curious, but Chloe bit her lip and stared at the floor and Marinette was bewildered.

"Look, I know I'm probably the last person in the world you'd want to talk to but-" She trailed off.

"But?"

"Well, you've been cutting yourself off from everyone since...everything that happened, and I know what it's like to be alone all the time." Chloe finally spit out. "So if you ever need someone to talk to or whatever, you know where to find me."

And with that, she ran off for the library doors and disappeared.

Marinette watched the doors swing behind her, trying to figure out what had just happened. Tikki had snuck out of her purse at some point and gave a confused shrug.

"What the hell was that?"

"I think, Chloe was trying to be nice to you?" Even Tikki, who usually loved to give people the benefit of the doubt, sounded unsure.

"This is the weirdest morning of my whole life." Marinette shook her head, head reeling.

Suddenly, the first bell rang, and Marinette jumped.

"Crap, I gotta get to class. I'll worry about all this later."

Tikki zipped back into her purse, and Marinette closed it with a snap.

She burst through her classroom's door, everyone already in their seats and Mme Bustier in front of the class.

"So nice of you to join us Marinette, please take your seat." Mme Bustier gestured to her table, and Marinette felt hot.

"Sorry."

Alya wasn't sitting in her usual place. Instead, Alix was on her bench.

"She asked me to switch all of the sudden," Alix whispered at Marinette sat down. "What's going on with you two?"

Marinette made a face. "It's hard to explain."

Alix shrugged and turned to the front of the room. Marinette glanced back to where Alya was sitting. She was pointedly ignoring her, animatedly talking to Mylene about something Marinette couldn't hear.

Marinette made eye contact with Adrien while she was turning back, and he rose an eyebrow at her. Feeling hot again, she couldn't manage much other than shrugging at him before quickly turning forward and try to pay attention to Mme Bustier's lesson.

After school let out, Marinette trudged home to attempt to start her homework, just like every other day of that hellish week. It was (mercifully) the weekend too, so she could ignore her problems for a few more days.

At least, that's what she tried to do, but Adrien cut her off at the door.

"Hey Marinette, can we talk?"

"Uh..." It was getting to that point of the day where Marinette's brain was mush, and she couldn't come with a reasonable excuse. "Sure?"

"Awesome!" Adrien beamed at her, and Marinette's poor head couldn't handle how bright his smile was.

"But, uh, I'm headed home right now..." Marinette pointed towards the bakery.

"Hmm. How about I just come over?"

"Uh..."

Adrien glanced away when she hesitated, shifting on his feet, "Oh, sorry. Am I being too pushy?"

"No!" Marinette replied, loudly, "No, of course not. That's uh, totally fine."

"Great." Adrien smiled again and stood to the side. "Lead the way!"

Marinette trudged home with Adrien trailing close behind, trying to figure out what exactly she'd gotten herself into. Adrien ran ahead to hold the door open for her, and she gave him an awkward little head bob as she passed.

"Welcome home Marinette," Sabine called from the living room when they came in from the stairs.

She glanced up from her basket of clean laundry to see Adrien standing in her house and blinked in surprise.

"Oh! Adrien! It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Mme Dupain-Cheng."

Sabine shook her head with a smile. "Dear, I've already told you to call me Sabine. What brings you here?"

"Marinette and I have a school project to work on." Adrien lied so smoothly that Marinette almost missed it, leaving her gaping at him.

"Ah, of course. Well, why don't you two head upstairs and I'll make some snacks?" Sabine was already heading for the kitchen.

"That sounds wonderful, thank you."

"Marinette, I'll let your dad know you two are here."

She nodded and waved, "Okay, Mom. Thanks."

Marinette led the way up to her room, some part of her still amazed that Adrien Agreste was at her house at all.

As soon as she pushed through the trapdoor, Adrien launched himself into her desk chair, spinning around in circles. Even though he'd been in Marinette's room before, Adrien examined all the posters on her walls and the sewing projects on her desk. He looked at everything with a keen interest he hadn't shown last time, and Marinette suspected it had something to do with him now knowing he was in Ladybug's room.

(Thank god she had taken down all those pictures of Adrien ages ago. It had started to feel less adoring and more...creepy...)

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Marinette dropped her backpack on her desk and took a seat on her chaise.

Adrien stopped spinning and pushed his way over to her.

"My lady." He said thoughtfully, his expression a cool kind of calm.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I know."

A little ball of black zoomed out of Adrien's messenger bag, flying into Marinette's face.

"Hi there girlie!" Plagg was a lot calmer this time around and had a bright, mischievous glint in his eyes. "Do you happen to have any camembert laying around?"

"Hello, Plagg." Marinette greeted, unable to stop herself from smiling at him. "I think we probably have some; my dad likes that stuff a lot. I'll ask my mom to bring it up with our snack."

" _See_ Adrien? _This_ is how you treat a kwami." Plagg gestured to Marinette.

"Plagg, leave him alone." Tikki popped out of Marinette's purse. "I know for a fact that you're well taken care of."

The two started bickering, making their way to Tikki's little hidey hole up by Marinette's bed. She let out a small laugh as they went, smiling up at them.

"I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've seen you look happy all week, _Buginette_."

Marinette frowned, suddenly on the defensive, "I just think it's sweet that they get to be together after all this time is all."

"I'm not complaining!" Adrien held up his hands in defense. "Plagg's been bugging me to talk to you all week so he could see Tikki again. He was anxious after... he was worried about her. And you, for that matter."

With a sigh, Marinette tugged on her pant leg, "Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I what?"

"Talk to me all week."

"Ah," Adrien leaned back in the chair, gazing up at the vaulted ceilings, "you seemed like you needed some space? And I was scared, I guess."

"Scared?" Marinette repeated, incredulous. "What were you scared of?"

"A lot of things." Adrien still wouldn't look at her. "I think seeing you get akumaized kinda...shook me up. I didn't know it was possible and, to be honest, I've been really worried about you."

"That whole day I was wondering where Ladybug was and when I finally found you, it felt off. On the one hand, I finally knew who you were, and I was so excited. But it hit me that, the fact that you were akumized meant that you had been hurting that badly and it felt...awful."

Marinette just stared at him while he plowed on.

"Something about it hit a little too close to home. It felt a little too...big, I guess. This whole time, everything has just felt like an adventure, but I got scared."

"If this was the first time you've gotten scared by all this, were you even taking any of it seriously?" Marinette couldn't stop the Ladybug in her from snapping at him.

Adrien shook his head, finally making eye contact. He had a little smile on his face, even after she had been short with him, and Marinette felt guilty.

"I've gotten scared plenty of times, usually when you were in danger. But I'll admit, I probably don't take it as seriously as you do. And that scared me too. What if, because I'm goofing off, someone gets hurt? Or what if something happens to you again and there isn't any way to purify the akuma? What would we do then?"

"I think this made me realize that even though we’re the ones responsible for keeping Paris safe but, we're just kids." Adrien sighed. "Just kids who don't know what they're doing."

It was quiet for a moment while Marinette thought through what Adrien had said.

"I'm pretty sure this is the most you've ever talked to me, as Chat or Adrien."

He huffed a little laugh, "well, as Marinette, you never seemed to want to talk to me, and as Ladybug....you also never seemed to want to talk to me."

"I did want to talk to you!" Marinette insisted. "At least, as Marinette. But as Ladybug..."

"Like I said, you take it more seriously than me. there's nothing wrong with that, it's probably a good thing really, but it also means there's not a lot of time for chit chat outside our usual banter."

"Yeah." Marinette agreed, deflating into her seat.

"I think I kind of understand why you were so upset last week." Adrien tilted his head. "I think being like Ladybug for you is what being Adrien is like for me."

Marinette furrowed her brow. "Elaborate, please."

"It's like, when I'm Adrien, I'm still me, just the best version of me. The most put together and collected me I can be. But then there's all this pressure to be that person all the time, but sometimes I just can't. And when I can't, I beat myself up about it because I'm disappointing people." Adrien glanced at her. "Am I close?"

"God." Marinette gasped. "Uh yeah, you nailed it."

"Obviously the pressure we're under is different but, yeah. I get it."

"It's just," Marinette tried to find the words, "it's like you said. What would have happened if I hadn't been able to break through? Chloe was falling from the Eiffel Tower, and you were being mobbed and...she would have died."

"But that didn't happen, and she's fine." Adrien pointed out.

"But _what if?_ " Marinette bit back, before covering her face. "Sorry."

It was tense for a moment before Adrien spoke again.

"You've been thinking about this a lot, huh?"

"I can't sleep," Marinette admitted, peeking up at him. "I dream about what could have gone wrong every single night. I'm so exhausted all the time."

"Yeah, me too. And I've been on edge this whole time, just waiting for another akuma to attack."

"Me too!"

"Who put teenagers in charge of saving the world anyway?" Adrien cracked a smile that Marinette was just barely able to return.

"Don't blame us; we didn't pick you!" Plagg called from Marinette's beg, only to be shushed by Tikki.

"Stop eavesdropping!" Adrien yelled back, and Marinette giggled.

Adrien lit up at that, smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing, you two are just cute." Marinette shrugged. "You've got that whole 'we pretend to hate one another but care about each other' thing going on. It's sweet."

Adrien turned a bit red and grimaced. "I'll have you know that there is nothing pretend about our hatred. He's the most annoying person I've ever met, and I'm friend with Chloe."

Marinette laughed at that, and a broad smile replaced Adrien's frown.

"Speaking of Chloe, I had the weirdest conversation with her today."

As she described what their weird interaction that morning, Marinette couldn't help but marvel at how natural it felt to sit in her room and talk to Adrien about her day. A week ago, she couldn't get a full sentence out around him, but now they were having conversations about their insecurities and complaining about Chloe together.

If the Marinette of a week ago could see her now...

"She asked if you were alright?" Adrien sounded more surprised than Marinette had been when it happened.

"Yeah, isn't that insane? And she kinda implied that I should come over if I ever need to talk. After everything." Marinette laughed, but Adrien stroked his chin.

"You should go," Adrien said suddenly.

"Um. Are you kidding?"

"No! Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but I had a talk with Chloe as Chat Noir, and she's actually super jealous of you."

"What!?" Marinette sat up straight.

"Chloe seems like she's got everything she wants, but she doesn't have many friends, and her dad's busy all the time..." Adrien paused. "She's a lot like me, but she doesn't have a superhero persona to blow off steam, so instead she's awful so people will pay attention to her."

Marinette wasn't really buying it. "I don't know."

"Maybe she wants to apologize? I know it seems weird, but you might as well give her a chance to say sorry."

She froze up at that, thinking about Alya. Adrien gave her a knowing look.

"Also, what were you and Alya fighting about?"

Marinette flopped back on her chaise, frowning up at the ceiling.

"Ah, come on _Buginette_! I thought we were sharing." Adrien ended up hovering over her, smiling his cheekiest Chat Noir smile down at her.

"I'll tell you if you get off me, you silly cat." Marinette pushed his face, making Adrien laugh and sit on the chaise.

Marinette sat up beside him, avoiding his eyes.

"I told Alya that I was Ladybug."

"And?"

"What _and_?" Marinette demanded. "Shouldn't you be mad at me for telling someone my secret or something?"

"Nah, I told Nino ages ago." Adrien shrugged, and Marinette gaped at him. "Why do you think I always have an alibi? Having a confidant is great for keeping your cover."

"I can't believe you-well, actually I can believe you told Nino..." Marinette frowned.

"So, what's the problem?" Adrien asked.

"Alya is mad that I didn't tell her earlier."

"Ahh, that phase. It's alright, Nino was mad at me before he realized how cool it was to have a superhero best friend." Adrien stuck out his chest.

"Well, Nino is Nino and Alya is....Alya."

"That's true." He nodded, considering. "Did she say why in particular she was mad?"

"Something about me not trusting her? I don't know...we were both yelling."

Adrien waved a hand. "You've got your answer right there! She's hurt that you didn't trust her enough to tell her."

"Well, I know _that_." Marinette rolled her eyes. "And I tried apologizing, but she didn't forgive me."

"I mean, it's not her job to forgive you."

Marinette stuck out her bottom lip.

"I know that you're frustrated, but you have think from her perspective too. Every excuse you've made, every time you've run off only to have Ladybug appear a minute later, she's just learning why. The lies build up, and that many lies can hurt people."

"That's part of why I didn't want to tell her," she sighed, "I wasn't just hiding one big thing, there were lots of times I lied to her to run off and save Paris."

"Honestly, knowing Alya, she's probably also partially mad at herself."

"What do you mean?"

"She's a reporter, and she couldn't figure out her best friend is a superhero." Adrien pointed out. "She's probably going crazy; all the signs were there, and she still couldn't work it out."

"You think so?" Marinette yawned, stretching her arms up.

"Probably."

She heaved another sigh and dropped her head onto Adrien's shoulder. Marinette was too tired to notice the way he tensed up.

***

"Why is everything such a mess?"

Adrien watched her eyelids flutter, her cute nose scrunching up as she tried to get comfortable.

He tried to relax, but he'd been teetering on the edge of panic their whole conversation. A big part of Adrien couldn't believe he was talking to Ladybug outside of the mask, too caught up in seeing Marinette to see his lady.

But then she'd do things like roll her eyes or banter with him, and he could see Marinette and Ladybug were one and the same.

And it was thrilling to be talking to her like this, but stressful too. Adrien didn't quite know how to be himself around her, but he found it became more comfortable the longer they talked.

"...I really don't know."

"Did your well of wisdom run dry?" Marinette teased, a sleepy smile on her face.

Adrien stared at her, a shy smile tugging at his mouth. He'd always known Marinette was lovely, but the fondest he held in his heart for both Marinette and Ladybug were squished together into something that made him overwhelmed with adoration.

He slowly brought a hand up to rub Marinette's back, and she hummed, yawning again. Her whole face squished when she stretched before she settled against him.

"I guess so my lady."

"That's too bad..."

She was slowly drifting off, but Adrien decided to push his luck.

"Sooo, are you gonna go see Chloe and Alya tomorrow?"

"Mhmm, sure Chat," Marinette mumbled into his shoulder.

"That's good." Adrien waited a minute more. "Do you like me, my lady?"

"Of course _mon petit minou_. You're my favorite."

He nearly died with delight, his smile hurting his face at that point.

"You're my favorite too, Marinette," Adrien whispered, but she was already asleep.  

They didn’t sit there very long because there was a knock on the trapdoor and Sabine popped her head up.

"Hey, you tw-oh!"

"Hi Sabine, we were just talking, and she fell asleep." Adrien laughed a little awkwardly.

"Thank goodness for that; she's had a hard time sleeping since last week." Sabine shook her head. "She might be out for a while, why don't I get Tom to come put her to bed, and you come have dinner with us?"

"That sounds perfect."

"Great, I'll go get him. You can lay her on the chaise for now."

Sabine went back downstairs, and Adrien gently moved Marinette off of him. He brushed her bangs from her eyes and gave her a quick peck on the forehead, trying not to blush too hard.

"Boooo!" Plagg appeared by his head. "Gross."

"You suck," Adrien told him dryly, then opened his jacket. "Get in here; we have to go."

Whining, Plagg burrowed into Adrien's coat. Tikki floated down to him and gave him a sweet smile.

"It's too bad I didn't get a chance to chat with you Adrien, I think we have a lot to talk about."

"That's alright, you catching up with Plagg." Adrien smiled at her giving her his hand to sit on.

"Catching up on 30 years of arguing, more like." She shook her head but laughed all the same. "We can chat next time."

"Next time." Adrien agreed. "I think you're right about having a lot to talk about."

Tikki beamed and hopped up to kiss his cheek.

"I'm so glad it's you, Adrien." She whispered. "And so is Marinette."

The trapdoor opened again before he could respond, and Tikki went to hide. Adrien tried to force his blush down and greeted Tom.

 

* * *

 

 

When Marinette woke up, she felt groggy, and a little gross from sleeping in yesterday’s clothes. But she didn't feel out of breath, and she couldn't remember dreaming at all. She in her bed slowly, giving a stretch and a yawn and checked her phone.

"Nine?!"

"You had a lot of sleep to catch up on!" Tikki laughed. "I think talking with Adrien helped a lot!"

"Adrien?" It took Marinette's mind a second to catch up. "Oh my god Adrien! Where did he go?!"

"Don't worry, your mom and dad had him over for dinner and then took him home ages ago."

Marinette flopped back on the bed, pulling her blankets over her head and groaning in embarrassment. Her parents alone with Adrien Agreste was the scariest thing she could imagine, even more frightening than Papillion.

"Nope, it's time to get up Marinette! You have a busy day ahead of you!" Tikki tugged on her blankets.

"I do?"

"Yep! You promised Adrien that you'd visit Chloe and Alya today!"

"I did?!"

After showering and eating a quick breakfast, Marinette made her way out into Paris. It would probably be easier to see Chloe first, because while that interaction would be painful, at least it didn't matter if it didn't go well.

Marinette arrived at the hotel and asked the front desk to call up for her. She received a confused look, and it seemed like the hostess was going to turn her away for a second, but she ended up calling. A moment of heated (and whispered) conversation later, the hostess waved her to the elevators, looking even more perplexed.

Expecting Chloe's butler to greet her, it was a bit of a surprise when Chloe herself answered the door.

"You actually came?" Chloe’s eyes were wide.

"I can leave if you want-"

"No! No, come in I guess."

Chloe led Marinette into her living room and gestured to the couch. "Make yourself comfortable."

Marinette didn't think that was possible in this situation but sat down all the same.

"Sooo..." Chloe crossed her arms, winging one of her feet. "Uh."

"I didn't come to talk about my problems," Marinette said quickly, so as to not be misunderstood. "I was more curious about why you offered at all."

Chloe rubbed her temples and sat roughly in her plush recliner.

"What I say never leaves this room, got it?"

"Sure..."

"So, I don't know how much you remember from being Silent Night or whatever-"

"I remember everything." Marinette interrupted.

"See, already that is _so weird_ , cause I don't remember anything from being akumized." Chloe shook her head. "Anyways, there was that moment she had me up on the Eiffel Tower and dropped me."

Marinette winced but nodded.

"For a second there, I really thought I was going to die." Chloe's eyes were unfocused, and she spoke. "There was no reason for Silent Night to grab me, and I thought that was it."

"And what, you had a moment of regret?"

Chloe snorted, "of course not. Haven't you noticed? I never learn..."

There was something sad about the way Chloe said it that made Marinette want to be quiet and listen to her.

"Anyways, she-you caught me and put me down, and then Chat Noir showed up, and there was that weird moment you guys had, and then the fire department had to come get me down because you guys _left me up there_ -"

"Right, continue."

Chloe frowned, “When I was back home I was thinking about all that, and how I could have died again...and I realized that there was no reason for Silent Night to save me. She hated my guts-"

"For good reason," Marinette muttered under her breath.

"We'll get to that, give me a second!"

"Fine, sorry."

"I _realized_ ," Chloe emphasized the word, "that the person that saved me wasn't Silent Night. It was you."

Marinette had been tense the whole time, but relaxed a bit in surprise, "what?"

"Don't give me that, you know what I'm talking about. Your transformation was weird the whole time, and it seemed like you were talking to Chat Noir somehow at the end, so I know it was you."

"Well," Marinette crossed her arms, "so what if it was me?"

"The fact that you saved me after-" Chloe cut herself off, sounding a little choked up, "after what I said to you..."

Chloe bit her lip and stared down at her feet, and Marinette shifted awkwardly. She wasn't used to Chloe this vulnerable, and it reminded her of that day. Chloe sniffed loudly and looked up, her eyes red and her nose runny.

"The fact that you can be that nice makes me _so_ angry. How could you save me after what I said to you?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Marinette said firmly, without hesitation.

"But I'm so _mean_ to you." Chloe was crying openly.

Marinette sighed and scooted closer to her.

"Chloe, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. No one takes you seriously when you're mean; no one takes it to heart. I think we all know you just say terrible stuff for attention."

Chloe gave a wet laugh, "I know, that's why I always have to outdo myself with how much of a jerk I'm being."

Marinette grabbed a tissue from the side table and passed it over, giving Chloe a moment to collect herself.

"I guess I've always just learned that the only way to get people to pay attention to me is by being terrible," Chloe admitted. "And so I take things way too far for attention."

"Wow. I didn't know you were so self-aware."

"I'm not a total idiot." Chloe snipped, before sighing. "I've also been thinking a lot this week."

Marinette leaned back on the couch, pursing her lips.

"This is really not the day I expected to have."

"Marinette?" Chloe sounded sad again. "I don't think your family is like that. They seem really, really nice."

"I know, Chloe."

It was quiet for a bit before-

"Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about everything I said, and I'm sorry that I'm always so mean to you."

Marinette looked up at Chloe. She still was crying, and she was watching Marinette. There was something very serious about her expression, despite the tears. She looked like she didn’t expect to be forgiven, and that she’d come to terms with that.

But she was apologizing anyways, without expectation or an ulterior motive.

Something clicked.

"I know Chloe. I forgive you."

Chloe nodded, before freezing, her face going blank. "Wait, did you...just accept my apology?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised too."

"Uh." Chloe frowned, looking like she was thinking. "Thank you? I guess?"

They sat in silence for a moment, both girls not really sure what to do.

"Are we...good?" Marinette asked, genuinely unsure.

"I think we are?" Chloe didn't look too confident either.

Marinette nodded, "well alright then."

"Do you want to...hang out?" Chloe's shoulders came up to her ears, and she couldn’t seem to keep her hands still.

"I'm gonna be completely honest and say no."

"Oh thank god." Chloe grabbed her chest in relief. "I thought we'd have to pretend to like each other or something."

Marinette laughed and stood, "Don't worry, we don't have to like each other. But maybe we can not hate each other anymore?"

Chloe stood too, a strange little smile on her face that Marinette hadn’t seen before.

"That actually sounds pretty nice."

Chloe walked Marinette out, standing in the doorway of her penthouse. They didn’t move, both not sure how to proceed.

"Bye?" Marinette tried and started towards the elevators.

She was halfway there when Chloe called to her, "hey!"

"Yeah?" Marinette turned around.

Chloe was still in the doorway, her arms wrapped around her middle.

"The hotel has like, a million video games and I've played most of them, but some are two player and I can't play them so...if you're ever bored with making clothes or cakes or whatever it is you do all day...I guess you could come over and we could play?"

Marinette tried to keep a straight face and nodded.

"Sure Chloe, that sounds fun."

"Really?" Chloe’s expression brightened for a moment before she turned her head away quickly and shrugged. "I mean, whatever. Bye."

"Bye Chloe."

Chloe lingered in the doorway and Marinette raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"See you at school! And tell no one Dupain-Cheng!" Chloe suddenly yelled before slamming her door.

Marinette pushed the button for the elevator, trying to keep her laughter in. As soon as she was in, she leaned against the wall and laughed so hard her throat started to hurt.

"What the hell was that?" Marinette gasped, wiping her eyes as she left the hotel.

Tikki smiled up from her purse. "You made a very mature choice back there Marinette, and I think you made a new friend! I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Tikki, but the day isn't over yet." Marinette rolled her neck. "I've got one last stop to make."

 

* * *

 

 

"Come on in Marinette, Alya's in her room."

Marlena let Marinette into the living room, shooing the twins away so Marinette could make her way back to Alya's bedroom.

"Don't worry girls; I'll be back over to play soon." Marinette winked.

It seemed to be enough to get Ella and Etta to calm down, and Marlena threw Marinette a grateful look.

Marinette knocked on Alya's door, biting her lip.

"I'm busy, Mom!"

"It's me, Alya."

There was silence from behind the door, then rustling before the door opened a little. Alya peered through the crack.

"Give me one reason why I should let you in."

"You don't have to." Marinette shook her head. "I can say it from out here."

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves a little. When she opened her eyes, she looked straight at Alya.

"I'm sorry Alya. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but that's what ended up happening anyway."

Another deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth.

"I was so scared of telling anyone the truth and endangering the people around me that I didn't think about how I could be hurting people. I'm sorry for always running off and lying and confusing you and for making you worried about me."

_Repeat until you can think._

"I know you wouldn't ever tell anyone, and I should've trusted you but I didn't, and for that, I'm really sorry."

Alya stared at Marinette for a moment, before sighing and opening up the door the rest of the way.

"Get in here."

Marinette tried not to get too excited as she followed Alya in. Alya plopped down into her desk chair and motioned for Marinette to sit on the bed.

She still had all her Ladybug stuff on the walls and had the Ladyblog open on her desktop. The last post was from before Silent Night, and even though Marinette knew Alya had footage, she hadn't put it up yet.

"I'm not letting you off that easy, alright?" Alya crossed her arms. "You owe me macaroons and Ladybug interviews for life, you hear?"

Marinette nodded eagerly, smiling at Alya the whole time.

"But I guess, since you were so sincere, I can try to forgive you."

"Yay! Thank you, Alya." Marinette jumped up, opening her arms for a hug before pausing, realizing it might be pushing.

"Oh, get over here you jerk." Alya pulled Marinette in and hugged her tight.

Marinette sighed happily, letting Alya hold her as long as she wanted. Alya's eyes looked suspiciously misty when she finally pulled away.

"I didn't even get a chance to be worried about you because I was so mad, but don't scare me like that again girl." Alya shook her head. "We need you."

Marinette felt her stomach drop a little and looked down at her shoes. "I'm sorry I disappointed you..."

"Marinette, I'm not talking about Ladybug. I'm talking about you." Alya ruffled her hair. "What would I do without my favorite design and source of endless entertainment and love?"

Marinette scrunched up her face, mostly to try to keep the tears at bay.

"I trust you enough to know you'll stay safe, and know I'm here to back you up, okay?"

"Okay."

A few hours later, after the twins had come and gotten their fill of Marinette, her and Alya laid sprawled on the floor.

"Hey, Alya?"

"Mhmm."

"Is part of the reason you were angry because you were mad that you hadn't figured it out?"

"Are you kidding me?" Alya propped her head up on her hand, looking down at Marinette. "That's like, 76% of the reason I was mad at all."

"Yeah?"

"Of course! You're a terrible liar, but I thought you were freaked out by akumas or something, so you were always running away. In hindsight, it's kinda funny actually."

"I am scared of akumas, in a way," Marinette admitted. "I'm scared of attacking them cause I know there's just a scared and hurting person in there that's not in control. And I don’t want to hurt them."

"...you mind if I write that down?"

"Oh my god." Marinette hit Alya over the head with a pillow.

"Hey! That was some philosophical superhero gold! I'm just cashing in on the infinite interviews you owe me." Alya laughed and laid back down. "How'd you figure that out, by the way?"

"Something a friend said." Marinette shrugged.

"Uh huh. That friend have anything to do with the fact that Adrien went over to your place yesterday?"

"What the hell, how do you even _know_ that?"

"What? Just because I was angry doesn't mean I should stop being a reporter."

"Just drop it, Alya."

"Alright, alright."

"..."

"So...who's Chat Noir?"

" _Alya!_ "

" _What?_ "

"...I don't know who he is."

"See, you're a terrible liar, which is why I should have figured it out sooner."

" _Oh my god..._ "

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's been over a year since I finished 'all is calm'. I haven't really had the motivation to write in a long time, my personal life has become very hectic and kind of a mess. BUT! Season 2 of Miraculous came out and made me remember how much I missed these kids. It also reminded me that I was sitting on a half-baked idea for a follow up to 'all is calm', and so here we are! 
> 
> This fic became a monster as I wrote it, I was originally planning for it to just be 3k of Adrien and Marinette talking about their feelings, but it kinda morphed into it's own thing. I had some people bring up some good points in the comments of 'all is calm' too. Someone mentioned that there wasn't any resolution between Chloe and Marinette, and because their argument was the whole cause of everything, it just made sense to look into that. 
> 
> I'm not sure if I'll be writing more fanfic, I'm going to be pretty busy in the next few weeks, but I have a lot of ml ideas that I haven't gotten to work on so we'll have to just wait and see!
> 
> I'm slowly becoming active on tumblr again, so if you wanna talk to me [I'm here](http://mazberrypie.tumblr.com/), and everything 'all is calm' related you can [find right here.](http://mazberrypie.tumblr.com/tagged/all%20is%20calm%20ml)


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